Living in a Cereal World

I just typed a mouthful. Really, that's a lot of name to squeeze into an attractive font on a cereal box. So what exactly is this cereal comprised of? Corn, sorghum, chickpea, sweet potato. It's all mixed together and pressed into little puffy squares--like a puffy Golden Grahams, but in two colors. I did not pick up a scent upon opening the bag and when tasting, my tongue went to texture first, not flavor. You know how I've brought up  puffy ,  gritty   cereals before? Well, this is the rare puffy cereal that does not have a weird gritty aftertaste/feel. So it didn't need the masking of too much honey and vanilla. On the other hand, I could've used more honey and vanilla. I swore when I was eating it that I was mainly tasting cinnamon--but there's no cinnamon in this, so I guess it's the combination of molasses and sugar. If it were an option from the emoji box, I'd give this a sideways thumb.

There's only two things in the world that my dad loves more than anything (besides his wife and kids, I'm guessing 😉): carrot cake and quiche. And I was determined to come through this year. We don't eat his favorite quiche anymore because it's too rich for the rest of us, but every now and then I'll come across something else to try. Case in point: this  Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Quiche from EatingWell. You've got your veggies, meat, cheese, potatoes...that's a meal right there. I even threw in some diced orange pepper I needed to use. Check out that hash brown crust 😍: It was pretty simple as far as quiches go.  As for the carrot cake, this year I went with a healthier spin:  One Bowl Carrot Cake Banana Bread . Although I ended up using three bowls. That's how I bowl. 😜  I also forgot to take a picture. I need to get back in the habit now. Just imagine the one from the website without the crumbled nuts on top. And I guess I should ment...

If Goldilocks was critiquing peanut butter cereals, she'd say this one's juuuust right . You know, I don't think I've had a peanut butter cereal since Peanut Butter Multi-Grain Cheerios (oh, wait, here's  one I don't even remember!) because everything's always peanut butter and chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but that's where it ends. Candy. Not cereal. So as soon as I found out about Peanut Butter Chex last month I started looking for it (and found it at Target last week). I find the success of a peanut butter cereal depends on the grains involved--in the aforementioned Cheerios the different grains added varying levels of sweetness, but in a pleasant way. This Peanut Butter Chex is made of corn, which for some reason makes the peanut butter flavor linger after a bite--but not in a gross aftertaste kind of way. It's more peanut butter-y than sugary-sweet, and that's what I'm looking for in a pea...

So I thought this overdue entry was going to be about Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries but it turns out I've already  reviewed it.  Twice . Oops. Was it that unmemorable? I know for sure I haven't had it since 2016. Now I know the only flavor I have left to review is the original. You'd think I would've done that one first. I'll keep that in mind in the next month or two. Now what else is there to mention? I wanted to blog at least once this week. Oh, I have the new flavor of Raisin Bran Crunch (Vanilla Almond), so that'll be my next review. I also spotted Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops--as in Corn Pops--and Birthday Cake Froot Loops, if you're into that sort of thing. Also, I made a strata for the first time yesterday. Now I know that's not off limits, as long as it's made with milk. Ok, that's it. An actual review is forthcoming. 😁

And here's another Cascadian Farm product that I never noticed until they redesigned the boxes. I was just looking for another cereal-mix option besides my usual Life or Oatmeal Squares. It was on sale that week, it was square, so I thought, hey, I'll give it a shot. The grains that make it "multi" are wheat, corn and rice, and the combination gives it a crispness like Chex. Actually, just looking at it you'd think, "flat Chex." It's not very sweet, which makes it perfect for mixing with other cereals that may have a stronger flavor profile. *bonus* mini-review: Nilla Banana Pudding My general rule of thumb is, if it's in the house, I'm tasting it. Generally . I know I've missed a few Frosted Flakes because I just don't remember to try it. But I saw that someone had purchased this Nilla cereal--which I wasn't interested in--so I figured it wouldn't hurt to taste it. The inside of the bag smelled like banana Runts (...

You know I had to bring the strawberries for Mother's Day. And I just happened to find rhubarb at Wegmans. So I made this  Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake . Check it out: I have no idea why the photo worked this time, but yay me. And I didn't lose a single strawberry upon flipping. Annnnd this was my first olive oil cake. It's super, super moist and doesn't taste of olive oil at all. Just add a little whipped cream and you're good to go. 👍

Maybe one adventure. Or one and a half. Anyway, it all started back in February when I bought one too many acorn squash. I baked one half for a yogurt bowl (which was delicious and I really should go back and find/link to it) but didn't know what to do with the other half. Then, for some reason, I thought I'll just puree it and figure it out later . I should point out here that I've never pureed a squash before; I just figured I could do it. And thanks to this  handy blog post I was able to do so. Not gonna lie, it's kind of tedious. You have to have the time to do it and also want to do it. And yes, if like me, you only have a blender, this process still works. I did add a little bit of water just to be on the safe side--it would be strained out later anyway. How do I know I successfully pureed? Because yesterday I thawed it and made this  Roasted Acorn Squash Bread . Do not be deceived. It may look small but it's filling --I'm guessing from all of...